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"We want to encourage as many schoolchildren through our gates as possible. It could be the key to protecting the living world around us.”

The scheme will run between November 2017 and February 2018 and will apply to students on school visits will get free admission to the animal park.

The zoo, which is the UK’s most visited tourist attraction outside London and the country’s most popular zoo. It has also been rated as one of best in the world.

Alongside showcasing animals, Chester Zoo is both an education and conservation charity dedicated to conserve the living world.

With 1.9m visitors per year and more than 100,000 people taking part in organised educational trips, Chester Zoo’s ability to shape a generation of conservationists is significant.

Chester Zoo’s major Safari Ranger outreach programme already delivers free sessions to schools throughout North Wales and the North West of England

Zoo staff also train community group leaders in habitat conservation, work with local field partners to protect endangered species and engage families and young people on site in Chester every day.

The planet is facing a crisis with large numbers of species under significant threat of extinction, including rhinos and elephants, frogs, birds and many more.

Even closer to home, there are widespread problems. The hedgehog appears to be declining in the UK at the same rate as tigers are globally, three bumblebee species have already gone extinct and one in five of Britain’s wildflowers is threatened with nationwide extinction.

An army of field conservationists from the zoo are fighting back, working with partners to deliver more than 80 vital projects in 30 countries worldwide, while the zoo is a world leader in breeding endangered species.

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Yet experts at Chester Zoo say that the challenges facing the planet are so great that they require widespread public engagement if they are to be successfully overcome, and that engaging future generations in conservation is critical.

By providing free admission for schools, the zoo hopes to inspire a generation of conservationists as species decline.

A recent scientific study, supported and published by the zoo, confirms that people have significantly better understanding of biodiversity and conservation after a visit to a zoo than before their visit.